THE GOLF IS OPTIONAL, THE MIRTH IS REQUIRED! The only blog detailing PSU Track and Field, (not always great!) Golf, Physics topics and great videos at the same time! An eclectic mish-mash (mess) of just about everything imaginable. Penn State Track and Field Alumni Golfers have honored PSU Track/XC, Coach Harry Groves and abused golf courses throughout Happy Valley since 2002. Help spread the word!

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"Friendship, physics, and philosophy---this blog has it all."

-Anonymous, 2011.

"I enjoy what you are doing with this blog. It is truly the only reason to have a Facebook account."-Darryl Jones.

"Light yourself on fire and then roll in broken glass to put out the fire!"-from Isaiah Harris's Twitter Feed, explaining how to replicate the feeling after an 800M race."Even pit bulls call him Coach."-Brian Mount, reacting to a visit to Coach Groves from Hunter Backenstose's pit bull, Blanche.

"Keep up the great work."-Nick Scarpello, after winning the 2016 Carlsbad 5K.

"Goodbye to all that. (Politics) I am turning into Jeremiah Johnson, a shunner."-Rob Whiteside, walking the Appalachian Trail.

"I'd rather see you laying in a gutter with your head split open than to see you run like that." -Coach Groves, following a poor showing of 800M runners at a Beaver Stadium Meet, late 70's.

"You do a fantastic job."-Phil Caraher.

"You are amazing at blogging."-Walt Chadwick.

"Best blog out there."-Phil Passen.

"...it tops all sites I've seen with its sense of humor."-George Brose, author of the website Once Upon a Time in the Vest, about our humble blog.

"Great post as usual DFB!"-Darryl Jones.

"You just don't f*** with a f*****."-sage advice from Coach Groves, as told to Tim Backenstose and me, 5/17/14.

"When I was a kid, I saw an illegal dice game in the bathroom at Franklin Field."-Matthew Groves, 2013, remembering the Penn Relays Carnival.

"Don't sit next to Balkey and Artie at a track meet...You'll end up talking about hockey for 3 hours."-Coach Groves to Rebecca Donaghue, 2013.

"The first 45 mile week I ever ran, I ran in the first 3 days at PSU- Thank you very much, Bruce Baden!"-Larry Mangan, 2012.

"If it takes longer than a paragraph, you don't have anything to say anyway."-Coach Grovesat the 2012 Track Alumni Dinner"If you can't get excited for The Penn Relays than damn it, you aint got no soul!"-Coach Groves, as reported by Matt Lincoln at the 2012 Penn Relays.

"Athletics is for education and recreation, nothing else. Winning is important only in that you learn more."-Coach Harry Groves, 5/21/2011 at the Alumni "Run"."... for a brief time, I'm the greatest Track Coach in the world."-Coach Harry Groves, at his Retirement 2006.

"You must do something about the cheating!"-Coach Harry Groves, after golfing two holes with each foursome in 2009.

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Thursday, June 30, 2016

As a lifelong York Countian, I am averse to any change. And yet change is inevitable. Qualified people in various professions tell me this is as wonderful thing, and should be embraced and celebrated. But that doesn't take away the fear of the unknown. But we must all dive in at some point!

Rob Whiteside conquered his fear and went on a lifetime quest with his daughter to traverse the entire Appalachian Trail. He prepared for this over years, and just dipping a toe into the cold, cold waters of change occasionally. And yet looking back, he did prepare well enough to actually do it! Rob and both of his daughters are probably the only people on planet earth who have walked every single road in Princeton, NJ. So I am confident that Rob and Phoebe will be the world's only people to trek the Trail and have seen every inch of Princeton!

Well, ALMOST do it, as he is now entering Maine in the final couple of hundred miles of tough, rugged hiking. I was invited to tag along on his quest a long time ago, as I am a fan of the Trail overall. But in the same way I am a fan of Mt. Everest. I will never do either, but I have extreme interest in both. And admiration for the brave, brave folks who conquer themselves and the target of their fears.

Rob took a break for one day after topping Mt. Washington, scene of America's worst weather. He was pleased to have some of the best weather there that can possibly be. My vibes must have worked...

Morning in New Hampshire..

And Stephen Walsh has decided to enter a new phase of life also. He has ended his track coaching career at William and Mary after award-winning stints there, Providence and Penn. His PSU degree in Accounting will serve him well!

Stephen Walsh.

One final note for today: Upon learning of the passing of Coach Bell of Indiana, Coach Groves smiled a little and noted that he had outlived another one. There really is only one Coach Groves. Thanks to our Course Marshall for the Coach update.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Our newest Idiot Officer has the Interns working hard. Intern CzarKevin Kelly O'Brien has posted the news that Brian Leap has been added to the list of American Olympic Trials athletes in the Triple Jump.

So far, I think the list of qualified and declared Nittany Lions includes:

Brian Leap - Triple Jump

Darrell Hill - Shot Put

Isaiah Harris - 800M

Brannon Kidder - 800M

Casimir Loxsom - 800M

Joe Kovacs - Shot Put

Bridget Franek - 3000M Steeplechase

Rachel Fatherly - Shot Put

Evonne Britton - 100MH

Mahagony Jones - 200M

(Ryan Whiting) - Shot Put (former assistant coach)

Let the Interns know if we missed any current or former Nittany Lions entered in the USA T & F Olympic Trials!

Thanks to Wade Endress and Darrell Hill for the additions! Remember, I'm in West Virginia and have limited internet access. Yeah, that's my excuse, and I'm sticking with it!

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

I was alerted to the passing of long-time Indiana CoachSam Bell by our Blog Laureate yesterday. Most of us realize what great influences a good track coach can be, and the best among them mean even more to thousands of athletes. Sam Bell was one of those among the best. RIP

Bell
was a head coach at Oregon State (1958-65), California (1965-69) and
Indiana (1969-98). His 1961 cross-country team at Oregon State won the
N.C.A.A. championship. At Indiana, his men’s team won 22 Big Ten titles
in indoor and outdoor track and cross-country; his women’s team there
won four titles.

He
had wide success coaching milers and half-milers. Berny Wagner, who
succeeded him at Oregon State, told Track and Field News in 1991, “Sam’s
very intense, and middle-distance runners have to be intense.”

Monday, June 27, 2016

I'm not sure how it all works. That's for the Interns to figure out under the direction of our new Intern Czar Kevin Kelly O'Brien. But it is another attempt at a professional track and field league culminating in a championship at Hayward Field. I think I read that there will only be one meet this year, but regional meets in the home cities will be in the future. Including Franklin Field!

Darrell Hill was selected for inclusion on the Philadelphia team. No news on ridiculous mascots, but I'm sure they are coming. I suggest the Philadelphia Schuykylls, so that no one ever spell it correctly or know what the heck they are talking about. In addition to the 16 drafted athletes on each of the four teams, there will be 20 athletes added via free agency. Look for some more Nittany Lions among the ranks.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

I have missed 2 days in a row of blogging, which means I have dropped to the lowest levels of page views in years. This coincides with the start of my long-deserved vacation and the first ever excursion of the rolling blog flagship RV "Podd 2"

This has not been a smooth start, and I spent all day today at the service center getting things fixed after pleading and begging last night to be seen today. The fine folks at Keystone RV in Greencastle PA are to be commended for getting everything back in order and possibly salvaging the rest of my vacation in wild, wonderful West Virginia. I hope to actually bring some Track and Field in the next days!

Thursday, June 23, 2016

It is with sadness that I report the passing of Jim Allahand. Jim was a stalwart of the early years of Coach Groves' tenure at PSU.

In MemoryJames Allahand - Bensalem HS Class Of 1969 James R. Allahand of Trevose passed away Sunday June 19, 2016. He was 64. He was born in Philadelphia, and was a lifelong resident of Trevose.
Jim was a graduate of Bensalem High School and Penn State University.
Jim was recognized as a premiere distance runner at both the high school
and university levels. He was employed as a Sports Specialist at Fort Dix and Maguire Air Force Base, where he managed their sports programs. He enjoyed his family, especially his nieces and nephews.
Beloved son of the late Benjamin and Anna Allahand, he will be sadly
missed by his siblings, Patricia Allahand, Robert Allahand (Lynn), John
'Jack' Allahand (Marilyn), and Edward Allahand (Margaret).
Relatives and friends are invited to attend his visitation at 6 p.m.
Monday, followed by his memorial service at 7 p.m. at Tomlinson Funeral
Home, 2207 Bristol Pike, Bensalem, PA 19020. Interment will be held
privately.Contributions may be made in Jim's name to the Penn
State University Cross Country Team online at www.psu.edu.Tomlinson
Funeral Home, Bensalem

Jim graduated from PSU in 1973, but was still running competitively when I was just a skinny Freshman scrambling to make the team in the later 70s. He won the 1979 Spiked Shoe XC Meet, and was still mixing it up with the team on the XC course even after my career was over!

Jim also had some unique American Records and great performances in his day.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Rob and Phoebe Whiteside continue on through New Hampshire toward Katahdin Mountain and the prudes of the Maine wilderness. I have always heard that the hiking is at the toughest at this part, and Rob gives us confirmation of that...

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Well, the PSU Track is being refurbished so we can host next year's Big Ten Outdoor T & F Championships. And don't forget that our Reunion will be that weekend too!!! This is the second time the track has been resurfaced since its 1979 conception. I will let our Official PhysicistBrian Boyer tell us...

First track lasted 79-95...and was in terrible shape after about 10 years....hosting ducks and their poop all spring.

This
track lasted 96-16...and the last time I was by it was in far better
shape than the old one at about 5-6 years....next one will probably last
until my mortal demise....

And I hope they don't make it a goofy color, which is all the rage right now. The emphasis should be on the performance, not the appearance. Just wish they would bother to make a stadium around it. (I do have preliminary sketches if anyone is interested?) If I only had a few $Million...

All photos stolen from Greg Fredericks' emails...

A decent metaphor for my track career.

Rolling, rolling rolling...

And not to be outdone, Michigan is building a new complex to host Track and Field and Cross Country (and a few other minor sports!). Interestingly, they will also have seating for a few thousand fans for the indoor track and 500 for the outdoor one. Sound familiar?

Friday, June 17, 2016

I love receiving just about anything from my 100's of fans! Yes, I did say hundreds. Things are really starting to pick up steam here at Blog Central. And just about anything YOU submit will be included too.

Coach Bill Preston generously submitted a more complete map of the PSUAC Mont Alto XC Course I helped to map out last week. Thanks Coach! I will certainly be there for the races.

KKOB sent me an article reminding us that PSU was there at the very beginning of the Nike Oregon Project. Friend Tom Clarke, PSUBiomechanics PhD,started it all and recruited Alberto Salazar as the coach. Previous post on this HERE.

Rob Whiteside and his daughter Phoebe (Large and White Rabbit) have had a terrible time of it once they entered the New England area. They are currently in New Hampshire headed toward Maine on the Appalachian Trail, where the hiking is at some of the most difficult of the whole trail. Weather has not been their friend at all, and Rob took a tumble with a few lingering side effects. I hope all of you say a prayer for them as I do daily.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Long-Time King of the Streakers Mark Covert had the opportunity to wear one of 5 pairs of shoes hand-made by an upstart Shoe Company for the 1972 Olympic Trials Marathon. Seeing as he was the only person with them to finish the race, Mark became the very first person to wear a pair of Nike's across a finish line. (2:23 or so)

He has held on to the sneakers ever since but recently put them up for auction. Nike itself was outbid and Mark is happy to know that he can "borrow" them occasionally for personal lectures and such.

Monday, June 13, 2016

I helped Coach Bill Preston (ex-HS coach of Bob Hamer and Matt Hutzelmann) with the layout of the new Mont Alto XC Course on Friday. This will serve as the Championship Course for the PSUAC (Branch campuses conference) in October. I'm sure anyone in the area who wishes to volunteer to help would be appreciated.

Two 2K loops were created which will be used for the 6K Womens Race and the 8K Mens Race.

6K - Loop 1, Loop2 and a reverse repeat of Loop 1

8K - Loop 1, Loop2, repeat Loop 2 and reverse repeat of Loop 1

and depending on the amount of rain, there is a small possibility of a creek to cross!

Sunday, June 12, 2016

I depend on others for a lot of my "reportage". And when big things are occurring for PSU Track and Field waaaay over in Oregon, I need help to bring you pictures and news.

So it is with great delight that I present our newest Roaming Corespondent, Patty Murnane Nosack! She happens to live very near Hayward Field, home of all track and field for the next millennium or so. (Remember, our original Roaming Corespondent is on the Appalachian Trail somewhere in the Green Mountains!)

Patty had the wonderful chance to take her daughter to Eugene yesterday and hang out in the Nike section of Hayward Field with other Nittany Lions. She generously sent me some exclusive pics for all of us to enjoy. Thanks Patty!

If I had the chance to visit Eugene, I would briefly visit Hayward Field, but I would really want to make it to the Dexter Lake Club. Here is Otis Day, still singing the Lake Club's favorite song in 2012! He had to learn to sing after the movie. He lip-synced the original!

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Penn State scored 13 points to come in 17th at the 2016 NCAA Mens Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene yesterday. Freshman David Lucas also became a Second-Team All-American with his 15th place finish in the Discus (180' 10"). Congrats to the coaching staff for the second top 20 finish in a row.

Senior Brian Leap - 6th Place Triple Jump (52' 11")

Senior Brannon Kidder - 4th Place 1500M (3:40.67)

Freshman Isaiah Harris - 4th Place 800M (1:45.76 PR)

Isaiah Harris, with our Wristband, and Brannon Kidder.

Brian Leap in throwback singlet!

Of note in both middle distance races:

Both were honest races with fast starts. Rare at championship level, but a pleasure to watch.

Brannon and Isaiah will both move forward to the Olympic Trials in the 800M.

The "throw-back" singlets were used. These are what our Alumni Singlets are modeled after. This certainly makes many of us old-timers smile!

Isaiah is wearing the Alumni Wristband I gave him at our Reunion. I'll have to check the tape to see if he raced with it! Update: HE DID! His version is the "PSU is 800U" version. He acquitted it quite well. Can't wait to see what the future will bring.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Later today I will be helping Coach Bill Preston (HS Coach of and Matt Hutzelmann, Bob Hamer and others) of PSU Mont Alto lay out his new XC course at Norlo Park, halfway between Mont Alto and Chambersburg, PA.

And he has already been warned about my course tendencies, so he wouldn't dare take much of my advice! I personally set up the course at my high school, which happened to dive into thick woods, crossing a creek and jumping a large fallen tree while ducking other large limbs. Of course, this was done twice. Many people didn't like any of it, but I relished it. Cross country should always be like that!

I think I will take Airship 800U along for some aerial pics and video of the course.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

I noted this article without delving into it deeply and flagged it for inclusion on the blog. Everyone knows I have 5 dogs (and 6 cats now!), but none are as fast as this guy. (My dog Pooky is quite a plugger though, and is put through 3 x 800M or 4 x 800M workouts behind Daughter the Elder's bike regularly.)

Brian Duff and Kaydom, 4:13!

But I didn't note that Nick Scarpello (3:58) was there and ran a sub-4 Mile too! Congrats Nick. That must have felt really cool. Thanks to Mark Horton for alerting me to the Alumni connection.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Ryan Foster was just hired as the new XC Coach at Edinboro University. That means we have lost our 2 Southern Hemisphere Outreach Specialists (Ryan Foster and Kara Millhouse Foster) I guess that means we will be gaining aLake Erie Monitor or 2?

Congrats to Ryan. We may try to arrange a welcoming Alumni Outreach in the Pittsburgh area late in the Summer before the season starts. Stay tuned. The competitive and well-respected PSAC will become even more so!

And here's the schedule for PSU at the NCAA Championships starting later today:

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Hats off to JuniorDannielle Gibson, who was voted the Mid-Atlantic Field Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA!Gibson set an all-time all-conditions record in the women's triple jump with her leap of 13.63mw (44-8.75”) at the 2016 NCAA East
Preliminary Round.

Monday, June 6, 2016

My quest goes on to compare and contrast the 800M training of the 60s, 70s, 80s and present. And now that Dave Wottle has joined our team as an Honorary Member, it is only a matter of time until I find the free time to actually get to work on it. (Our Obersturmbahndronenfuhrer is going to help!)

Dave Wottle at Penn. I think AFTER the Olympic Gold...

But there is still another Honorary Member to-be! Pippa Middleton, yeah THAT Pippa, just ran the Great Wall Marathon and placed 13th for the women! And we have a representative of our Group that may be able to personally alert her to our offer. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Keep Calm and Run On!

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Both Isaiah Harris (800M) and Brannon Kidder (1500M) will be lacing their spikes up in the NCAA Finals in Eugene next weekend, but what about the other 800U stand-out?

Casimir Loxsom has been somewhat quiet this year as he is building up for a shot at the Olympics. This is opposite of the criticism from wannabes and never-wases on the message boards moderated, encouraged and sock-puppeted by haters within and without our community. Cas should not be suffering from burn-out or over-racing leading up to the Trials.

Yesterday was a strong step in that build-up at the Music City Meet where he stepped into an advertised attempt at the world record in the 600M, one of his strongest events. The race was dealt a big blow with the pull out of Duane Solomon at the last minute, but went off anyway.

Casimir ran a strong 2nd place behind Charles Jock (1:14.96 to 1:14.92). I can't wait to see what is next!

Saturday, June 4, 2016

I have run in 115 degree weather, and I have run in -23 degree weather. This is the story about the -23 degree episode in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. I bring you this tale after being reminded of it by of our great Throws Coach Patrick Ebel, who spent quite a bit more time there than I did.

The year was 1985 and I was getting in my clinical experience in podiatric medicine prior to graduation that year. I had signed up for a month at a top-notch facility, the Gundersen Clinic. Think of it like the Mayo Clinic without all the fat, hassles and calories. I had learned how good a program it was for aspiring Residents of Podiatry. But I hadn't figured about the time of year I would be there, and I ended up with January. In Wisconsin! Oh well, I'm sure I could handle that...

Unlike nowadays, booking tickets to get there was an over-the-phone affair, unless you went to a travel agent. I got a great deal on a 2-flight combo from Philadelphia to LaCrosse on a major airline and thought nothing more of it.

December 31, 1984 came and I grabbed my things and took off on my 1 month-long adventure of learning. The first flight took me to Minneapolis in big plane luxury. Well, what I thought of as luxury anyway. I had an hour to spare and went to sit at the gate for the connecting flight to LaCrosse. I was plenty early and no one else was there, so I casually took a nap.

I was awakened by a gentleman in a pilot uniform who asked if I was headed to LaCrosse. I answered in the affirmative and he helped me grab my stuff and we headed for the door. It opened to the tarmac where we trudged across the macadam to a very little commercial plane. We stuffed my bags into the open hatch and hopped onto the plane. There was still no one else around. I thought I was being treated special and figured others would be along any minute. It was a nineteen-seater. I was further startled when the gentleman closed the door, fired the beast up and we began taxiing toward the runway!

Turns out he was the pilot and I was the only passenger for the flight. I then figured that there had to be a stewardess hiding somewhere I couldn't see, but none ever came.

Once the surprise almost left me, I napped a little bit more. Why waste any time to rest prior to a month as an unpaid intern? I was again awakened by a gentleman in a pilot's uniform. MY PILOT was sitting next to me starting a conversation with me! And I was in the back of the plane. I sneaked a glance up front and must have looked panicked as the pilot exclaimed "Don't worry, it's on autopilot." as if I had ever been on a plane without a pilot and should relax like everyone else on the planet would!

We talked briefly and he resumed the controls, telling me "This will be bumpy, but it always is because of the terrain of Southwestern Wisconsin". True to his word, the flight became quite like a little roller coaster you rode as a kid at a church carnival. Still, it was really scary to someone like me, who hadn't flown much at all prior to that.

Once we landed, I was thinking about kissing the ground, but was dissuaded from it because it was REALLY COLD! The thermometer prominently displayed at the airport read -23 degrees. I suppose the locals have some sort of pride about it. And I was the only person I ran into wearing a hat. This was before the when every damn hipster in the world wears a knit-cap 24/7. I figured my bizarre start to the month was over, but I was wrong!

I hailed a cab for the short trip to the rather large complex of the Gundersen Clinic and my temporary apartment among the medical students. I was looking forward to a little down time prior to checking in with my mentors.

But the cab stopped dead on the two-lane road with a line of stopped cars ahead of it stretching into the distance. Up ahead were several cop cars with lights flashing. More cops sped by us in the opposite lane, all converging at the same spot ahead. It was just an open field covered by the snow, like everywhere else I looked? It was over an hour until the flashing lights ceased, and the cars started to leave. And then.... Nothing. We just completed our journey with nothing at all to see, and that was that?

It was only the next morning when I read the paper that I learned what had held us up. It happened to be "just a burning body without a head or hands left burning beside the road". Welcome to Wisconsin!

And since I always try to link the blog to running, golf, or physics, I will tell you that I don't think it ever got above 0 degrees during the whole month. And I took a run across the Mississippi River, and I never saw any moving water. Ever.

The highlight of my runs there were the beer crystals hanging in the frozen air from the Heileman Brewery along the river (brewing that great Old Style lager as seen in the Blues Brothers movies). You could actually taste the beer instead of merely smelling it! At -23 degrees, every run was a beer tasting.

Friday, June 3, 2016

First up, Steve Shisler was just named Coach of the Year for the PTFCA! His State College Boys team took home the team title by 1 point at the PIAA AAA Championships last week for the first time in school history. The fact that he golfed with us and attended our Reunion with his busy schedule is a testament to his organizational skills!

His 4 x 800M team won with a splendid 7:37.25 time, #1 US, which I am sure pleases him more than just about anything could. State College is 800HS!

Alex Milligan, anchor.

And in other news....

Olympic Champion Dave Wottle has accepted an honorary membership in 800U! With his school, Bowling Green University, without a Mens track team (yeah, they have a Womens team!), I thought he might like to join with us. That means he is on a team with his Bowling Green mentor, Sid Sink, and his 1972 Olympic opponentYevgeni Arzhanov, who joined us a few months ago.